Liverpool Sound City 2013: John’s Day 1 Roundup
Header photo by TGTF Head Photographer Martin Sharman
The weekend of sun, and brand spanking new music in Liverpool for Sound City was kicked off for me with somewhat of a whimper. The first band I stumbled upon were in the Academy of Arts, a local Liverpudlian band of rogues called Broken Men, who wouldn’t have looked amiss in their attire on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean. The tunes are solid, if a bit unspectacular and the band are not helped by the sound problems which dog the short set.
Their bearded frontman could do a little more to try and egg the crowd on instead of standing lazily affixed to his microphone, affixing his gaze firmly on the back of the venue. The raw materials of a good zest were there though, as musically they were tight and the tunes managed to attract some veneer of a crowd. A little more heart though, from these Broken Men, is needed next time. (6/10)
A stark change of scenery followed, as attention turned to the Cathedral, where Noah and the Whale were playing their headline set. Mary will give you her take on that portion of the night here.
To close the evening it was the turn of TGTF’s good friend Jon McClure, aka The Reverend, of Reverend and the Makers (pictured at top). Standing at a formidable 6’7” he strikes an imposing figure as he struts with ‘swag’ (bleugh, sorry I said that) across the Arts Academy stage with the venue swelling o capacity with music fans and local revellers all mixed in with each other.
Gone is the usual decorum of these gigs at festivals like Sound City and the pure lad rock excitement that a Reverend and the Makers gig brings comes over everyone who beholds it. As the reverend conducts his sermon from the alter every hit is busted out to a raucous reception, with the best saved for ballad-come rip-roarer ‘No Soap in a Dirty War’. Standout single Heavyweight Champion is, as expected, brilliant with McClure seeing the audience worked up into a frenzy of bouncing, bobbing bodies.
As the band leave the stage there is a genuine yearning for more from the crowd, they don’t want the man whose every word they’ve hung on for the last 90 minutes to leave the stage in front of them, and who can blame them. He may be abrasive and a bit rough on the edges, but the man emits charm in absolute swathes and as a live performer, he never disappoints. (9/10)
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3rd June 2013
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